NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Portage, WI
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Portage, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 111 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 111
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Portage
The strongest of the 111 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 7, 1984; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 111, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Portage has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1970, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Portage has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Portage's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Portage
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s12
- 2000s27(1 EF3+)
- 1990s18
- 1980s22(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s10(3 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F5 | 19 mi | 36 mi | 9 / 200 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | F4 | 12 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 25 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | F3 | 14 mi | 29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 16, 1963 | F3 | 17 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Aug 16, 1963 | F3 | 17 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Aug 16, 1963 | F3 | 17 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Jun 7, 2008 | EF2 | 11 mi | 8.63 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 18, 2005 | F2 | 16 mi | 14.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F2 | 18 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 27, 1994 | F2 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1994 | F2 | 15 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 111, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Portage
The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Portage since 1970, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 13 days, most recently May 15, 2025. The most recent report is from September 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Portage
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Portage Wwtp, WI, 2 miles southeast of Portage at 785 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 38.4 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.4 inches is more than at 147 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (89%). Poynette, 10 miles south, has its own station (Arlington, WI): 35.4 inches a year, 3.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 10 | 1.4 | 5 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 31 | 13 | 1.4 | 4 | 10.0 |
| Mar | 42 | 24 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 56 | 36 | 4.2 | 7 | 2.2 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 4.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 39 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 44 | 28 | 2.2 | 5 | 2.0 |
| Dec | 32 | 17 | 1.7 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Year | 56 | 37 | 38.4 | 73 | 39.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Portage Wwtp, WI (785 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Portage
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 144 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Portage: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 floods, 11 flash floods, 5 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $12.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on May 28, 2012. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 293 have had fewer than Portage.
June 7, 2008: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Portage — $10.8 million damage.
August 26, 2004: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Portage — $400,000 damage.
June 12, 2013: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Portage — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “The Columbia County 911 Call Center reported approximately 100 trees were blown down, many power lines downed and scattered clusters of damage along a 17 mile-wide path from 5 miles southwest of Portage to Columbus from damaging thunderstorm wind gusts that were estimated up to 80 mph.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Portage's ZIP code 53901 have filed 98 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 19 claims (19% of all) and $79,000. 26% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 128 Wisconsin cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 113 have fewer than Portage.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 19 | $79,000 |
Columbia County, which includes Portage, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Columbia County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.4 million a year, the 12th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.5 million (40%), is from hail.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.